The invention relates in general to non-lethal anti-personnel projectiles, and in particular to longer range non-lethal anti-personnel projectiles.
Non-lethal projectiles are designed to impact human beings without killing or seriously injuring them. So, non-lethal projectiles must have an impact momentum that is below a lethal threshold for humans.
In existing gun-launched non-lethal projectiles, the impact momentum at close range is limited by limiting the launch velocity of the projectile and/or the mass of the projectile. Limiting either the velocity or the mass affects the ability of the projectile to perform at longer ranges. For example, a low mass can result in a low ballistic coefficient and a consequent great loss of velocity. A low launch velocity results in even lower downrange velocities, longer flight times, and more gravity drop. In either case, the non-lethal projectile will not perform as needed at longer ranges, for example, up to 400 meters.
A need exists for a gun-launched non-lethal anti-personnel projectile with non-lethal performance at both close and long ranges.